Bitcoin Surge Triggers Over $680M in Liquidations, Bears Take Heavy Losses

A sharp breakout in bitcoin’s price above $121,000 has unleashed a wave of liquidations across crypto markets, wiping out over $680 million in leveraged positions over the past 24 hours — with short sellers bearing the brunt.

Data from Coinglass shows that roughly $426 million of the liquidations came from bearish bets, marking one of the largest weekend liquidation events in recent months. The single biggest hit was a $92.5 million BTC short position liquidated on HTX.

Bitcoin itself accounted for $291 million in forced closures, while futures linked to ether (ETH) and XRP followed with $68 million and $17 million in liquidations, respectively. Other tokens such as Stellar’s XLM and pepecoin (PEPE) also saw elevated activity, suggesting that the squeeze extended well beyond the major cryptocurrencies.

In contrast, assets like dogecoin (DOGE), Solana’s SOL, and SUI witnessed rising open interest but suffered smaller drawdowns, hinting at stronger demand in spot markets rather than purely speculative futures activity.

Liquidations occur when traders using leverage are compelled to close their positions due to margin calls. While often a sign of excessive market positioning, these events can help reset market dynamics by clearing out weaker hands and paving the way for new directional moves.

Bitcoin’s rally over the past week has fueled a broader surge in the crypto market. Traders believe that shifting market structure, increasingly influenced by institutional players, could keep momentum alive, with many now eyeing the $130,000 level as the next short-term target.